The Only One That's Left to Trust
by slthompson
Summary: When the dead start attacking the living and the world goes to shit Sarah's life get's more complicated then she could have ever imagined. She finds that you need to work with people to survive or you wont. She also finds comfort in the company of a group member who's a little rough around the edges, but matches up perfectly with her. Original Character story.
1. Chapter 1

**This is a story about Sarah and her journey through the end of the world. It picks up pretty much around season two because it's my favorite and for me it's the easiest to write about, I just love the setting. I'm utterly in love with Norman Reedus, and I'm even more in love with Daryl as a character so I'm sure you can guess where I'm going with this. I'm rating this M for language and any romantic content that may appear in future chapters. I hope someone can enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it. I'm still new to posting my stuff on the site so any reviews or constructive criticism is always welcomed and appreciated! Thanks for reading!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Walking Dead universe, it's characters or it's places. I wish I did though...yeah that would be so nice.**

* * *

The wind was whipping her long hair all over the place. It was warm today and the sun was high in she sky. They'd been on the road for just over an hour. Her back was stiff and she could already feel the sting of sunburn on her arms and shoulders. She didn't care though, she kept her arms wrapped firmly around Daryl and much to his discomfort she was sure, her head laid against his back. She couldn't help it though. She was tired, and the wind was making her eyes water. She'd like to think it was the wind anyways. Daryl hadn't said anything the entire ride. He hadn't even said anything when she asked him if she could ride with him instead of with everyone else in the RV. It was just too crowded in there now that they'd gone down to only two vehicles, and after what had happened at the CDC she didn't want to be trapped anywhere anytime soon. He had just silently nodded and carried on with prepping the bike for the ride. She decided to keep her pack in the RV and since she had to hold on to him, she carried his on her back. They'd been in the lead of the caravan and suddenly she felt their pace slow significantly.

She picked her head up and looked over his shoulder and saw the reason for the sudden stop. The way was blocked. Cars, trucks, and semis littered the road. Most were upright with their doors swung open, having been abandoned, others were flipped over, or bunched up together from a crash accident. "Hold on. Gotta' turn er' around." Daryl began backing up and road back towards the RV. "You see a way through?" Dale asked. He merely nodded in response and then they were turning around again. He led them as far in as he could before a loud pop sounded behind them, followed by a sputtering noise. Sarah had heard it so many times in the few weeks that they'd been with this group, the damn hose had broken for about the millionth time. Daryl swore under his breath as he turned the bike off. He had her get off first, then he kicked out the stand as he did too. She stretched as soon as her feet hit the pavement. Her legs were sore and her back was killing her. She didn't mind though. It was a small price to pay for not riding in the RV. She hadn't wanted to talk to anyone lately, even Glen. He had been nothing but kind and friendly to her from the moment her and Rick had arrived in camp. But he liked to talk a lot, and today she just didn't want too.

The rest of the group piled out of the cars behind them and gathered around the front of the RV. She and Daryl slowly walked over to join them. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him crack his neck. The loud crack sent chills down her spine. That was something that had always grossed her out. Her brothers use to do it all the time and it use to annoy her to no end. She chuckled at the memory of yelling at them to stop. Coming from the girl who cracked her fingers endlessly, it was never taken seriously. A sad smile tugged at her lips, but quickly disappeared when she heard what the group was talking about. They were going to scavenge the cars on the road. They all looked full to bursting with things people thought would be important to take. She didn't like the idea of it, but she knew it was survival now. Besides, if they didn't take it someone else would.

They stayed in groups now, that was the rule after what had happened at the quarry. No one ever went out alone anymore except Rick, Shane, or Daryl. Lori, Carol and the kids started looking through a SUV that looked packed with clothing, Glen was working on the hose, Dale was perched atop the RV watching the road, Rick and Shane were on either side of the RV, also watching the road. Andrea had gone off into the RV, which annoyed Sarah. She knew she had lost her sister just over a week ago, but she was just dead weight lately. They didn't have the luxury of grieving anymore. It was all about surviving.

T-Dog and Daryl had started rummaging through some trucks and she noticed some hunting bumper stickers on one close by and decided that she would try her luck there. Maybe they'd at least have some more arrows Daryl could use. His were pretty tore up and he had mentioned something about having to make his own a week ago. Thankfully the truck was empty of any bodies, so she just began sifting through all the bags in the truck bed. A few yards away she heard a burst of laughter. She looked up to see Shane pouring water all over himself, he and Glen were laughing like she had never heard them laugh before. She smiled, rolled her eyes and resumed her search. At least that was one good thing about stalling out in this graveyard. She heard them before she saw them. The moaning, the slow shuffle of feet, and the sound of something being dragged. She looked up and froze. There were fifty of them at least. Walkers were shuffling her way, the stench of them slowly filling her nose as they came closer. She was trapped, in the truck bed, with no where to go and no place to hide. She turned and looked over to Daryl who was hiding behind a car nearby. He motioned her to get down, at first she thought he meant out of the truck but after a moment she dropped to her stomach and covered her mouth. She could feel her heart beating wildly and she instantly broke out into a cold sweat.

It was only a few moments before she could hear the pounding on the cars around her as the monsters walked into them as well as the moaning as they passed by. A few of them bumped into the truck and she was surprised she was able to stay silent when they did. She fought the urge to throw up, whether it was from the nerves or the smell of the decaying corpses, she wasn't sure. None of them stopped, or even seemed to notice her presence and she was thanking God more then she had thanked him for anything in her life when the moans finally started to fade out and the smell of a cool breeze replaced the smell of decay. Eventually the moaning stopped completely and there was nothing but silence outside. Just when she was about to poke her head up over the side of the bed a loud thud that sounded incredibly close by caused her to jump. She held her breath, not daring to move an inch, but then she saw him looking down at her from just over the edge. "C'mon, it's safe now. Looks like that was the last of them. Here, I need you to help me with this jackass over here."

She somehow managed to stand up and hop out of the truck. Her legs felt like jelly and she still wasn't sure if she was going to get sick or not but when she looked up at Daryl he had T-Dog's arm around his neck and was supporting him with his shoulder. She saw the injury on his arm and panicked. She quickly grabbed his other arm and pulled it around her neck as well. They shuffled back towards the RV. Everyone was huddled around the guard rail, looking down into the forest. They took T-Dog and leaned him up against the Rv. "What happened to him, was he bit?" Sarah grabbed a shirt out of a suitcase that was laying dumped out in the middle of the road and did her best to wrap and tie it around his injury as fast as she could. "Nah, just cut himself on one of the broken up cars... what the hell people?" Daryl glanced over towards the group and without another word to Sarah made his way over to everyone. She stayed with T-Dog to make sure he wasn't going to pass out or anything. She glanced over at everyone and noticed Carol was crying hysterically while Lori was trying to calm her down.

"What happened?" She asked Glen when the group finally dispersed and Glen started walking over to her. "Two walkers tried to get Sophia, chased her in there. Rick went after her but he's not back yet. Daryl and Shane went looking." Sarah's heart dropped. "No." She spoke softly. She saw Carol being held back by Lori, who just kept repeating, "They will be back, they will be right back with her." Sophia was a sweet girl, she was kind of quiet, like her mother. But she was very polite, and was always attached at the hip with Carl. After a few minutes they heard some leaves crunching and Shane emerged back out onto the road. He told them that Rick and Daryl were still looking, that no one else was to go in, so they didn't mess up the trail, and there were things that needed to be taken care of while they waited. Everyone was assigned a task, her's was to continue to search the cars. There was a decent amount of food to be found and even more when it came to clothes. But Sarah found it hard to focus much on what she was doing. Her thoughts kept switching back to Sophia, Rick, and Daryl out there alone in the woods.

* * *

It was getting later now, it wouldn't be too long before it got dark. They'd been packing up everything they'd found and were still waiting for Rick and Daryl. The cars had been moved and everything was ready to go, except for Sophia and the hose that is. The sun had almost completely set by the time the two men returned, without the young girl. Carol was a mess, Rick was trying to calm her down, and even Daryl was trying to comfort her, in his own Daryl like way. It was a long night when they all finally did turn in. Everyone was crammed in the RV, everyone except for Dale and Shane, who were on top of the RV on watch all night. Sarah couldn't sleep, between the soft snores, the sniffles coming from Carol, and the kick to her leg that occurred every time someone moved in their sleep. When it was finally day light out, she couldn't get out of the RV fast enough.

They quickly ate breakfast and then gathered around for a meeting. The group was going to go searching for Sophia together. Rick laid out a bag of hunting knifes, something that had been found in one of the cars apparently, and instructed everyone to grab one. They were all huge, but slightly different. Sarah grabbed a standard looking one. It was long, maybe about six inches or so, and it came to a ultra fine point. She secured the holster on her hip and moved out of the way so the others could take their picks. After a quick talk about guns, safety in the woods, and staying quiet they were off.

It wasn't long before they came across a random tent that was pitched in the middle of no where. They had hoped to find Sophia inside, but found nothing but a rancid smell and a decaying body. That both comforted them, and only made them worry more. Suddenly there was a ringing in their ears. Literally, it sounded like church bells were ringing and it didn't sound like it was too far away. Rick had left the search in Daryl's hands. The whole time they traveled he was the one in the lead, the one calling the shots. So when he took off running the rest of the group followed without question. Within a few seconds they came across a small white church, with a graveyard surrounding the back side of it. Shane didn't think that was it, there was no steeple, no bells. But Rick wasn't going to not look. It was a small building anyways, it wouldn't be too hard to clear and she could still be in there, even if the ringing hadn't come from here. When they came around the front, there was a large sign that read "Southern Baptist Church of Holy Light. Bikers welcome!" Sarah stood there, staring at it for a few moments. She had actually grown up in the suburbs of Michigan, and she had been brought up Baptist. Flashes of the church she'd known ran through her mind, the hymn's she'd sang and the service where she'd been saved. Or at least she thought she had. She had tried not to think too much about religion anymore. It was a topic that rarely came up. She had never had doubts before, but these days...

There was no noise coming from inside, and when they opened the door, there were only three walkers, sitting quietly in the pews. They were easily taken down and soon after the bells sounded again. A quick investigation turned up a timer. The ringing had come from here, but there was no sign that Sophia had been here.

A few people decided they wanted a bit of time in the church, not her though. She had been running from her faith for a long time. Right now she was too tired to face it, so she walked outside, around the graveyard, reading tombstones and looking over all the dead flowers that had been left behind. She heard footsteps coming up behind her. She didn't need to turn to see who it was. He had this way about him, a presence that she could just feel. Maybe it was because they'd been traveling together for so long. She could probably tell the footsteps of half of the group without looking honestly. Daryl slowly came up next to her and glanced down at the marker she was currently fixated on. "Someone you know?" he asked. His southern accent was thick, but it came out even and calm. She shook her head. "Nope. Just someone who was lucky enough to go before all of this." There was silence between them for a long moment before he spoke again. "Rick and Shane are staying back with Carl. Gonna' check the area another hour or so. The rest of us are heading back to camp. We're gettin' ready to go."

She nodded her head in understanding and turned to face him. He was dirty again, well he was always dirty really. His hair was drenched with sweat and plastered to his forehead. His shirt was sticking to his stomach too and she could see his skin glistening in the sun, except for the places that were caked with mud and dirt. He was biting his thumbnail as he was looking down towards the marker. She hadn't meant to stare but she couldn't help it. Suddenly he looked up and his eyes locked on hers. She felt the jelly sensation she'd felt yesterday return to her limbs. Her mind scrambled for something, anything, to say. She was drawing a blank though so she just continued to stare into the blue pools that were looking back at her. He gave her a weird look, like she was crazy, before he said "We'll be over there when you're done here." He turned and with long strides walked away, and it was only just as he did so that she managed to shake herself out of whatever it was she had just been stuck in. She felt like she had just made the biggest fool of herself. She already felt like she annoyed him most times, now he probably thought she was a total creep too. 'Smooth Sarah," she said to herself, "real smooth."


	2. Chapter 2

Dale was waiting for them when they finally made their way back to the road. Glen was the first up the small hill to explain what had just happened and Dale freaked out. "Shot? What do you mean he's been shot?" Glen was trying his best to explain to Dale but they barley knew what had happened themselves, it had happened so fast. Daryl was the last one out of the brush. His crossbow was slung over his shoulder and as he stepped over the rail Dale ran to him, pressing him for answers too. "And you just let her go off like that?" His voice was panicked and he was looking at Daryl with wide and angry eyes.

"Climb down out of my ass old man! Rick sent her. She knew Lori's name and Carl's." Daryl shouted as he stormed past him and just kept going. Dale was now going off about Andrea being attacked and Glen and Carol were trying to answer his questions and shut him up. Andrea stormed into the RV, slamming the door shut behind her. Sarah looked back at Daryl. He'd finally stopped and the edge of the huge car pile up and was standing there, looking out onto the empty road that lay ahead of them. He was holding his crossbow at his side now, using his free hand to grab the end of his shirt and bring it up to his forehead, wiping the sweat from his brow. She sighed and walked over to the bike, taking her pack off and laying it on the seat. She needed some water, she had run out before they had even started walking back from the church. She was always trying to remind herself that she needed to conserve water, but it was just too damn hot today. Glen walked over to her just then, arm extended to her with a plastic bottle, as if he had just read her mind. She said as much before she took a long drink from the bottle, wiping a small dribble from her chin when she finally stopped. He chuckled, "Yeah, that's just one of my other super powers. Not only can I successfully travel anywhere undetected, even if it's crawling with walkers, I can also tell when someone is dehydrated. It's a gift really, what can I say." She smiled at him and thanked him. Dale walked over to them then. "We need to figure out whats going on tonight. It's going to be dark soon and if we are going to leave we need to start packing up."

Carol was on him in an instant. "We aren't going anywhere, Sophia is still out there! We can't leave until she comes back!" Sarah was about to say something when that calm southern drawl came up behind her. "Y'all can go up there tonight in Carol's car, I'll stay here with the RV, bring it up tomorrow." Sarah turned to him, "No you're not staying down here alone. What if something happens, if another heard comes along?" He huffed and looked like he was about to shoot off one of his smart ass remarks when Dale interrupted. "If the RV is staying, so am I."

"I'll stay too." Carol added. "Me too." Glen agreed. Sarah pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a sigh. "You know what, we'll all just stay here tonight. There's no point in sending anyone up alone right now when most of us are just going to head up tomorrow. "No," Dale objected. "Glen you need to head up to that house tonight."

"What? Why me? Why do I always have to go?"

"Because someone needs to get T-Dog up there and get him some help. He's got a really bad infection and if he doesn't get it taken care of soon he wont make it until we get up there tomorrow." Glen's shoulders dropped and he looked like he wanted to argue, but thought better of it. Daryl walked over to his bike and moved some stray rags and Sarah's pack off the seats. He pulled something out of one of the pockets and made his way back over to the small group. He tossed her pack to her with such force she barley caught it without dropping it. He also threw the dirtied rags at Dale and barked out something about grease rags on his brother's bike. He held up a large zip lock bag that had a mess of pill containers in it. He searched through the bag and when he finally found what he was looking for he tossed the two prescription bottles to Glen. "Why didn't you say something earlier. I've had my brother's stash this whole time." He zipped it back up and made his way back to the bike. Everyone just stared after him, mouths slightly agape. He put them back in his pack and looked up to meet the five sets of eyes staring at him in confusion. "What? That's the good shit I swear. All prescription. Merle got the clap sometimes." He strut right past them and climbed up the side of the RV.

Once they all tore their eyes off of Daryl the arguing resumed. Glen was tired of being "the lone runner" for everything and after about five minutes of constant bickering Sarah had heard more then enough. "Fine, everyone else will stay and me and Glen will take T up to this house. That way the RV is alright and if anything happens on the way us three will have each others backs." She looked to Glen and as usual she shot him the look that said 'please let's just go.' A wave of realization washed over his face after a moment. Usually when she gave him that look it meant she just wanted to go for a walk or something, which was exactly the opposite of what she wanted, but Dale's bitching was even driving her a little nuts right now. If her accompanying Glen stopped that, it was worth it. The group went back to dong their own things while she tended to T-Dog. Glen eventually got the car turned around and Sarah helped gather T-Dog's pack, and ease him into the passenger seat. She waved to Dale and Carol before she got in. She looked up to wave to Daryl too, but he wasn't paying them any mind. He was too preoccupied with cleaning his arrows apparently. She sighed as she tossed her pack into the back seat and climbed in. It was going to be another long night for everyone in the group, she could already tell.

* * *

Daryl was laying on his back, his arms up with his hands behind his head. He'd been laying there for almost an hour listening to Carol crying towards his feet and the clicking of the gun as Andrea took it apart for the fourth time. He had tried to ignore it, tried to think of other things, tried to just fall asleep, but nothing was working. Finally he couldn't take it anymore. These women were going to drive him fucking nuts. He got up, grabbed his crossbow and got his piece from Andrea. He'd decided to walk the road, maybe Sophia would see the light or something if she was close by. He told Dale where he was going and the old man knew better then to question or argue with him, he wanted to be alone right now. No crying or wining women around.

These people were really getting on his nerves lately. They lost one kid and got the other one shot all within twenty four hours. What the hell was wrong with these people? That's why he never wanted kids. Just something else you gotta look out for besides yourself. He chose to take a path that he had seen earlier but they hadn't explored yet. Everything seemed pretty quiet at first, that is until he heard footsteps creeping up behind him. He turned around,his crossbow raised and ready to fire a bolt into whatever geek had managed to get this close to him in the first place, only to find Andrea holding her hand up in an attempt to shield the light he was shining in her face from her eyes. He dropped his stance and she dropped her hand. "What the hell lady? You trying to get an arrow through the eye? What the hell are you doing?" She was lucky he'd hesitated. A few seconds sooner and she'd have been done for. He knew she wanted to die, after Dale had to practically drag her out of the CDC, but he thought she'd be over that shit by now.

"Sorry, sorry! I'm sorry." She said quietly. "I just wanted to help you look. I can't sleep either."

"If you wanted to help then you should have stayed where you were." he barked back. So much for being alone.

They walked in silence for a few minutes. Finally she asked him, "Do you really think we're going to find her out here?" He glared at her. She had that same stupid look on her face that everyone else did, like the little girl was already gone. "What is wrong with you people? We just started looking. It ain't the mountains of Tibet it's Georgia for fucks sake. She could be held up in a farm house somewhere, waiting for someone to find her. People get lost and they survive. It happens all the time."

Andrea looked at him, the shock from his words clear across her face. "Yeah, but she's only twelve Daryl. You think she can survive on her own?" He looked at her and shrugged his shoulders. "Hell I was younger then that when I got lost." His mind flashed back to that time. Nine days in the woods, eating berries and being scared out of his mind. No one had even known he was gone. At least this little girl had someone lookin' for her.

They walked the rest of the trail in silence. They came across some asshole who had hung himself from a tree. Wasn't smart enough to shoot himself in the head. Dumb bastard. After they took care of him they made their way back towards the RV. The woman was mumbling about tossing up what little food she'd eaten and how tired she now felt. He wasn't really paying attention to her until she started talking about Sarah. "Bet her and Glen are nice and warm in that house together." He stopped in his tracks at that. He turned around and looked at her. "What?" Andrea looked a little surprised. probably at the fact that he actually had been listening to her at all.

"I said I bet Sarah and Glen are real comfy tonight, up at that house. They are always together, now they get to stay in a nice place for a night. I'm sure there going to take advantage of it." He looked at her for a moment before replying. "In some strangers house, when Carl is lying in the other bedroom shot? I don't think so. Besides, I didn't know her and the Asian were even a thing. When did that happen?"

Andrea chuckled and rolled her eyes. "If you ask either one of them they say it hasn't. But they are always together, he's always talking to her. Hell in the past two days the only people she's talked to are him and you. She's always on his ass." Daryl just grunted in reply. They walked back towards the RV and Andrea went in to try and catch some sleep. He climbed atop the RV and told Dale he could get him some sleep too. He wasn't going to be going to bed anytime soon anyways. Someone might as well get a decent nights sleep. He couldn't stop thinking about what she had said for some reason. About Sarah. He hadn't really noticed it until she had brought it to his attention, but her and that Asian did spend a lot of time together. He saw them talking and laughing together a lot, and today when she said she was staying at the RV. As soon as she found out Glen was going she changed her tune. Not like he really cared if she was into one of the guys in the group. Wasn't his business anyways.

What actually surprised him was that out of all the guys, she was gettin' cozy with Glen. He just didn't seem like her type. He was kind of quiet like she was, he was good with gettin' places but he was pretty sure the kid didn't even know how to work a gun. He complained a lot too. Always bitching about something he had to do. He didn't think she'd be the type of girl who'd be into that. Honestly she was more of a man then that kid was. Rick was married, which apparently didn't mean much anymore in this new world, but he was pretty sure there was nothing going on there and he hadn't seen T-Dog talk to her much either. There was Dale but Daryl was pretty sure he was old enough to be her grandfather, and then of course Shane. He was a dick though. He couldn't picture her with him either. She didn't like being hollered at, he had found that out when Shane had yelled at her in camp one day, back in the quarry. She was a little on the short side, maybe about 5'5", and he had towered over her yelling something about carrying a gun the wrong way, but she was yelling right back at him. She wasn't as much of a pussy as Glen was, and she wasn't a asshole like Shane...

He shook his head, trying to clear the thoughts from his mind. Why did he even care what type of guy she liked anyways? Wasn't his business.


	3. Chapter 3

It was cool outside this morning, but it was quickly heating up. She stood by the fence, looking out at the long dirt road that was leading up to the small farmhouse. Hershel had been able to save Carl last night. It was a miracle. Lori and Rick had stayed in the room with him the entire night. T-Dog had gotten a little bit of sleep after getting stitched up by Patricia, and she was sure Merle's drug stash helped ease his pain. Sarah and Glen had stayed up all night just in case anyone needed anything or anything happened. They had no where to sleep anyway, so most of the night was spent sitting on the porch talking. Maggie had even joined them for a few minutes once or twice. Sarah liked her right away. She was sweet, but a little sassy. She reminded her of Stacy, a women she used to work for in her late teens. She hadn't seen Stacy in years, but she had always loved getting together with her when she had come in to town to visit. She grimaced at the memory of Stacy, and what had probably happened to her.

Glen was sitting on the ground with his back leaning against the fence staring the opposite direction, towards the farm house. "You think they are going to come anytime soon, or you think they'll do another run for Sophia?" Sarah tore her gaze from the empty dirt road and down towards Glen. "I don't know. Daryl's the one who's in charge when it comes to her search, and nobody knows what is going through his mind ever." Glen just hummed in agreement. Sarah sighed after a few moments and turned to slump down in the grass next to him. She followed his gaze to the left side of the house where Maggie was sitting on the porch in one of the rocking chairs. Sarah nudged Glen in the arm gently before she spoke. "She's really sweet huh?" She smiled as she spoke. She'd seen that very same look on his face enough times in her life to recognize it for what it was.

He kept his eyes locked on the porch, not even blinking. "And cute. She's really cute." He replied. He looked at her then, unsure and a little bit guilty. She laughed at him, "Oh don't be embarrassed. Everyone's got a type, and she's a good type to have. She is very pretty." Sarah winked at him and he gave her a small smile.

"Girls like her never even noticed me." Glen said. "I had a crush on this one girl for the first two years of college, never had the courage to talk to her, but we had a ton of classes together. She never spoke to me, never even noticed I was there."

"Well that would be because you never talked to her. You have to let her know you're interested, otherwise, she wont notice you." Glen chuckled now.

"Easier said then done. I've never understood women, even more so now that the world has ended. You all are even more emotionally unstable then you were to begin with." He was rolling a long piece of grass between his fingers, "What's the secret?"

Sarah raised an eyebrow at him. "Secret? What do you mean, what secret?"

"What is it women want in a guy, and why can't they just tell us? Wouldn't that make things easier, then we wouldn't mess up when we are trying to please them and they wouldn't have to get mad because we messed up in the first place." Sarah couldn't help but smile at him. He was a year or two younger then her, but right now he sounded like a teenage heartache. He was so smart, more so then he realized, but in some ways he was so clueless. "You really wanna know?" She asked, the smile still playing on her lips.

"Enlighten me. Please!"

"You can't go around telling everyone now, this stays between you and me." She held her hand out and without a moment of hesitation he shook it. "Deal. So what is it. What do women want from a man?" Sarah glanced over her shoulder at the empty road before she continued. "We haven't got a clue." Glen stared at her for a moment. "What? That's it? That's all you got?" She nodded, "Yep. That's all I got."

"Thanks. Very helpful." He sighed as he crossed his arms across his chest and began staring back up towards the porch. "You know, when I was in high school I had a thing for older guys. Guys kind of like Shane. Football players with a stupid ass sense of humor, who didn't care what anyone thought and always had a lot of friends, went to parties every weekend, and all the girls thought they were just so cute. My senior year, I'd been dating this one bad boy, didn't do anything, had a job but barley came to school, and we'd been together for a while. I went into class one day and saw this guy I'd never noticed before, he had everything I didn't want." She smiled down at her hands as she fiddled with the ring on her middle finger. "I liked dark hair, dark eyes, and big arms. He was blonde, with these soft hazel eyes, and always had a PSP in his lap or comic book under his nose. His name was Emmett, and he'd been in the same school as me for four years, and I had never seen him before in my life. I liked to flirt, it was harmless and just something to do, especially since my boyfriend never came to class anyways, so I started flirting with Emmett. There was just something about him that I liked."

"He was completely clueless though. Thought I was just talking to him for conversation, or to get homework answers." She rolled her eyes. "After about three months of trying to get him to flirt back at me, or to even just talk to me without me starting the conversation first I'd had enough. I broke up with my boyfriend and immediately asked him out on a date. He looked like I'd just slapped him across the face, he was so surprised. But he said yes. So we went out to the movies one night, saw something scary. I kissed him, and we started dating the next day. He was nothing like I'd ever had before. He played video games with his friends instead of partying, he liked to cook instead of go out, and he always made me make the first move. It was so different and new and for once things were working. We even moved in together after we graduated." she could feel the tears pushing at the back of her eyelids now, as the memories flashed before her eyes.

"What happened?" Glen asked quietly. He was looking at her now, and she could see the pity on his face. "We got tired of each other after a few years. Things just started to change. I started feeling like his job and gaming was taking up more time then me, I was ready to start settling down, he felt like there was more we needed to do before we got to that point. We argued a lot and we started to spend every night alone doing our own thing, even though we lived in a one bedroom apartment and neither of use had been going out with our friends much. We just got on each others nerves I guess. We started talking about if the relationship was worth pursuing. We decided we'd give it another shot. Both of us would try to fix whatever the other one wasn't happy with and we'd see where we were in a month. Three days after we had that talk, we lost power because of everything that was happening in the city. Eventually we figured out what was going on and..." She tried to finish, she really did. But she just couldn't. Silent tears were falling now, and all she could see was Emmett's face. When they were young in school, when he had just started growing real facial hair, when they'd argued, when they'd made up, and when she lost him to those monsters. Glen put his hand on her arm and told her he was sorry. She nodded and wiped the wetness from her eyes with the back of her hand. "You know when me and Rick first met, we talked about them. He told me about Lori and their fights, I told him about Emmett and ours. When we came back to camp I was so jealous. They got a second chance you know? People don't always get that, even before everyone started dying, and they have it now even when the world has completely ended. They are so lucky."

She sniffled and Glen just nodded as she continued talking. "If anyone deserves one though, it's Rick. He's a good man." He nodded in agreement when she finally looked back up at him, red eyed and wet cheeks. "Sorry, I know this doesn't help make sense of how crazy women are at all."

"Don't be sorry. You can't help it you're all insane. It's just the way you are." She laughed then, and when she finally stopped she took a deep breath and wiped her eyes once more. "Glen you're the best." He was about to say something when the rumble of a engine reached them. They quickly stood up and turned towards the road. The saw the bike first followed by the RV. A warm sense of relief washed over Sarah and Glen smiled as the caravan made it's way towards them. They'd had a long night and the group hadn't been separated since leaving the quarry. It felt good to see everyone back and unharmed.

By the time everyone reached the front yard, the Greenes and the rest of the group had come out of the house to greet them. There were hugs all around and even a few tears. Rick explained everything that had happened with Carl, with Shane and with Otis... Everyone went off to prepare for the funeral. After everything the man had done to try to help save Carl, it was the least they could do. Sarah decided to grab a change of clothes since the RV was finally here. She walked in and went over to the closet where she kept her small pack. She rummaged around in it for only a moment before she found the plain black t-shirt she'd been searching for. She might not be able to dress properly for a funeral, but at least she could get the color right. She slipped into the small bathroom and changed from the dingy white tank top she had worn for at least the past three days and pulled the thin black t-shirt over her head. She use to hate putting on clean clothes if she was dirty, now she was just grateful for dry clothes to switch into. She pushed the lid of the toilet seat down and sat on it, her talk with Glen had brought back everything she'd shoved way down inside. She needed a moment to snap the lid back on her emotion jar before she went to help with the rock pile. She put her head in her hands and took a few deep breaths, and tried to think about anything other then his face. She had known they weren't meant to be together, but she felt guilty. They could have made it work if they really wanted to, and looking back he had put more effort into them then she had... she looked down and the ring on her hand. He'd given it to her for her birthday one year. It wasn't a proposal or anything, just a thoughtful gift. She turned it on her finger a few times. Now that she'd lost some weight it wasn't as tight as it use to be.

She slipped it off carefully looked at it for a long while. She finally put the ring in the front pocket of her pack, where it would be the safest. She was calm now, and collected. He was gone, and probably better off. He wasn't here to see all this. He would have hated this new world anyways, and she was sure wherever he was, he was much happier then she was. She quickly replaced her bag back in the small closet and made her way to the rest of the group under the large oak tree. The service lasted only a few moments. Hershel spoke and so did Shane. It didn't help everyone's mood to hear of Otis's last moments. Shane was right though, he'd saved a child's life. He was a good man. After it was all said and done Rick, Shane and Daryl gathered around the truck with Hershel. Plans for looking for Sophia were being made Sarah guessed, while the others set up camp a few yards away from the house. Most of the other women were starting laundry, except for Andrea who had decided to run around following the men or something, and Sarah who was helping glen with the actual set up of the tents. They'd only gotten one half way up when Maggie walked over to them. She asked Glen to go on a run with her and Sarah told her he would love too! When Glen glared at her after Maggie walked off saying something about horses Sarah just gave him her sweetest smile. He couldn't stay mad at her, and she was sure he'd be thanking her for the alone time with Maggie later.

* * *

Daryl was fine with going out on his own, thought it was better that way anyways. No one to slow him down, no one to mess up the trail, and no one to distract him. But when Rick had suggested he take Sarah along with him, he didn't argue. Well not as much as he usually did anyways. Since Rick and Shane were stuck on the farm today they decided they'd set up the tents and Rick had said he would feel better with Daryl not being alone. With the heard that had passed by the main road they were still unwilling to let anyone go off on their own and Glen was going on a run to town with one of the farmers daughters. Sarah apparently wasn't as good as Rick or Shane when it came to handling a gun, but she'd had more practice with it then Andrea had and she wasn't a bad shot from what Rick said. So he'd given in and let her tag along. He wasn't going far out anyways. She was having a bit of trouble keeping up with him, trying to step directly in his footsteps he noticed. She was kind of breathing heavy but she wasn't saying anything or making much noise. They walked for a long time like that before they came upon what looked to be an abandoned house.

It was a really old home. The paint was chipping on all the support beams in the main room and the floor creaked loudly with every step they took. Luckily there was no eaters inside. They didn't find much upstairs, just some old bedrooms and a bathroom. Sarah opted to check the closets for some more clothes. She said that some of the women were complaining about their socks or some shit and asked him if he knew if there was anything in particular the men needed. "How the hell should I know? I ain't their damn babysitter." Sarah just sighed as she walked over to the closest to see what she could come up with. He made his way back down the creaky stair case and into the kitchen. After spending only a few minutes in there he was sure that someone had been here recently. The liquid in the can that was sitting on the counter hadn't dried up yet and the pantry was pretty small, definitely small enough for a child anyways.

After he cleared the rest of the first floor he made his way back up the stairs. She had been quiet most of the day, not really saying much at all. He had seen her talking to Glen when he'd first arrived at the farm, off by the fence by themselves. He frowned looking back on it. He'd told himself that he didn't care what the hell she did or who the hell she did it with as long as it didn't effect him. But when he'd seen them sittin' there, together...

He found her in the second bedroom, she had pulled all the clothes from the drawers and had separate piles spread out all over the bed. He heard her rummaging around in the closet and when she walked out and saw him standing there she had a huge smile on her face. He just looked at her for a moment, the same squinty eyed frown he usually wore. "What are you so happy about?"

"These people had good taste. I think I've found something for everyone, even you!" She began walking over to the side of the bed that he was on and she laid out the piece she'd had folded across her arm. It was a black leather vest. It was a little worn but still looked to be in good condition. It had two pockets on either side and two ties that went down the side seams. It was a decent vest, Merle would have liked it for sure, but Daryl didn't understand why she thought he'd like it. He never wore anything but his flannels. So he asked her. "It's just a vest. What would make you think I'd want somethin' like that?"

Her smile grew even wider as she reached down and turned the garment over. "This." She said as she took a step back for him to observe it again. The back of the vest had two angel wings on it. The fabric was white and the stitching looked like it was of good make. Definitely something he was sure he'd never have been able to afford before. He leaned down to take a closer look at it. He could still smell the scent of leather. Yeah, this was a good quality vest, and he wouldn't admit it to her but he did kind of like the look of it. He wasn't sure why, maybe because he knew Merle would have. "So it's got wings. Still don't understand why you'd think I'd like it." He slung his crossbow over his shoulder and started rummaging through one of the other piles she'd laid on the bed. His undershirts were getting pretty bad. Holes and tears all along the bottoms. He wouldn't mind having a few more of those. He saw her smile disappear out of the corner of his eye before she spoke again. "I don't know... I just thought of you when I saw it." She was just staring at the floor now.

He felt kind of bad. She had a huge smile on her face a minute ago and now she was frowning because of him. She took a deep breath as he picked up the vest and looked it over once more. "What about me?" He asked as she set it back down on the edge of the bed. She walked back over to the closet as she answered him. I don't know it's just..." she hesitated for a moment before she finally said "Nothing I guess. Just me being silly I spose'." She continued to busy herself with folding the shirts and underwear she'd found and neatly placing them in her pack. Daryl looked down at the vest again and with a deep sigh he set his crossbow on the dresser and pulled his dirty flannel cut off over his head.

"Aye. Throw me one of them shirts there. A large if ya can find one." She moved some things around before pulling out a plain white t-shirt and turned to toss it to him and when she noticed he wasn't wearing his shirt anymore her eyes grew wide. They did that a lot, he'd noticed. It's like you could tell exactly how she was feeling from her face. She had probably never played poker a day in her life. He didn't miss how her eyes lingered on him. He felt uncomfortable and it annoyed him when she failed to follow through with giving it to him. "AYE! You deaf lady?"

She jumped again, she was so easy to startle. "I'm so sorry, so-" she finally tossed the shirt to him and quickly turned her head back towards the clothing in her lap. He saw the blush creeping across her cheeks. There was a lot of dirt on her face, but she was like a tomato right now, he would have laughed at her had he not been so close to her. He shook his head and pulled the clean shirt over his shoulders and then his head. He grabbed the vest off the bed and slipped it on. Surprisingly it was just his size. He moved back over to the dresser where he'd set the large crossbow and looked in the large dusty mirror. It didn't look too bad.

* * *

Sarah quickly zipped up her pack and stood up. She tossed it over her shoulder and then turned back to Daryl, still keeping her head down. She couldn't believe how stupid and awkward she had just made this run. Not only had she presumed to know something about him, because as far as Daryl was concerned no one knew shit about him, but she'd also just totally checked him out while he was looking right at her. What was wrong with her? "Right, let's head back. It's gonna start getting dark soon." His voice was calm and even now. What? One minute he's yelling at her and the next minute he's calm as day. She looked up at him and couldn't stop the huge smile from returning to her face. He didn't look at her as he grabbed his crossbow and walked towards the door, but she couldn't stop looking at the wings displayed across those broad shoulders of his as he walked away.


	4. Chapter 4

**So you know what's the best feeling ever? Having people follow your story and leaving reviews on it! It's an amazing feeling. I just wanted to take this chance to thank everyone who has followed so far and especially those kind enough to leave me some feedback that makes me feel like I'm doing something right. :) You have no idea how much it means and I hope everyone continues to enjoy these next few chapters!**

**Also since I haven't said so in a while, I don't own The Walking Dead universe, it's characters, or it's places. Just having some fun with the material.**

* * *

Well, this day sucked and he was pretty damn tired. His head was pounding and there was a ringing in his ears that seemed to get louder and louder. He would open his eyes every once in a while, sometimes Rick was there, saying something to him that he couldn't make out or Hershel would be standing over him poking at his stomach. His eyes were open now, but he was still feeling disoriented. That ringing was as loud as ever and everything looked a little blurry. Daryl knew he was in bad shape and groaned at the thought of being this way for much longer. He blinked a few times, trying to focus, to get a clear picture. He saw Sarah now, standing at the foot of the bed, her arms crossed and her wide eyes looking at him. What the hell was she doing in here? Was he dreaming again, hallucinating? Probably. He thought she was talking to him, but he couldn't make out anything. He thought he heard her say his name, but then her voice just turned into mumbles again.

She wasn't really there, he was sure it was just his mind playing with him. Like it had with Merle. He wondered why he'd even seen Merle anyways. Not like his brother ever did anything for him. He'd always been on his own for as long as he could remember. Merle hadn't done shit for him. Maybe gotten him into trouble a few dozen times, almost got him killed a few others. He didn't know why he would see him when he was that far up shit creek now. He'd been there before after all, and Merle was never anywhere to be found. Daryl turned over once again not wanting to think about that right now. He tried to focus on the soft voice mumbling to him. He finally allowed himself to fall back into unconsciousness.

When he woke up next it was still light outside, but it didn't look like it would be for much longer. He was still wrapped up in the covers and he could feel a cool breeze circulating in the room from the open window to the side of his bed. His head wasn't pounding as bad anymore and the ringing in his ears was gone. He looked around the room and saw that he was alone. The door wasn't completely shut, but it was only slightly cracked open. He stretched and flinched from the pain in his side. That damn arrow had gone straight through, and he was really feeling it now, almost more so then when it had actually happened. He heard someone talking on the porch. At first he didn't pay much attention to it, until he heard his name.

"I shot Daryl..." Andrea, of course. He didn't blame her so much for shooting him. The others had thought he was a walker too, so he could understand it he guessed. She was just trying to protect the camp. Wouldn't kill her to look a little more closely through that damn scope though. "Don't beat yourself up over it too much. We've all wanted to shoot Daryl." Dale. Daryl scoffed, and was about to shout out something about him shooting at them, and having better aim when he did too, but then Andrea's voice reached his ears again. She sounded relieved. "Sarah! Daryl is going to be just fine, he's going to be ok." Daryl froze as he listened. Whatever he had thought about saying before had left him, he was more interested in their conversation now.

"I know he's going to be ok." Her voice was different. It wasn't soft and stuttering with giggles thrown in ever other word. She was speaking evenly and she sounded annoyed. She didn't skip a beat when she said "If a bunch of stupid walkers couldn't kill him, I don't think we need to worry about some stupid bitch doing it either." What the hell? He heard her heavy footsteps as she crossed the porch. "Hey now! That's completely uncalled for! She-" The creaking stopped immediately and he heard that unfamiliar voice again when she cut Dale off, only this time she was getting a little bit louder. "She didn't listen and she didn't think. She should have let the men handle it, because they were perfectly capable of doing so. She shouldn't have wasted a bullet or risked anymore walkers hearing the shot. We have almost lost two people in the group because of her. She was careless and didn't think, she never does." The screen door slammed shut and now he heard those angry footsteps coming towards his room. He froze for a second before he remembered to pull the blankets up and around his neck. He had done it just in time, because she was suddenly in the room, closing the door as quietly as she could and leaning her back against it. She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. Then he saw her walk over to the window, where Dale's comforting words could be heard and saw her slam it shut. She was breathing heavily and she looked pissed. It was strange seeing her that way. She was always nice to everyone and smiling. All that coming out of her? He couldn't believe it.

"Shouldn't be so mad at her. She was just tryin' to help." He looked at her from where he lay and she turned at the sound of his voice and looked right at him. At first she looked surprised, those wide eyes he was more use to seeing popping out at him, but then she narrowed them. She looked back out the window and glared, at Andrea he was guessing.

"No. She was trying to make a point. She's been bitching about not carrying a gun she doesn't even know how to use for the past week. Now that someone gives her one she almost shoots you, you, of all the people in the camp!" She shook her head and then turned and looked right back at him. "No. She needs to stop being so damn selfish." Daryl watched her as she took a deep breath and then walked over to a chair that was right at the head of the bed. She sat in it and put her arms on her knees and her chin in her hands. "How are you feeling? You ok?" She didn't look angry anymore. He didn't know what she was lookin' at him like. He didn't like it though, he felt awkward.

"How do you think I feel? I just been shot in the head and impaled on an arrow!" She smiled at him then, it was a sweet smile and still, it made him feel very uncomfortable.

"Well, that sounded pretty Daryl-like to me. You had me worried there for a while."

"What? What are you talking about?" He narrowed his eyes.

"You would come in and out for a while there. I told Rick I'd stay with you in case you needed anything. I'm not much of a cook so I think Carol and Lori were glad to get rid of me. Anyways, sometimes you'd say something, and I had no idea what you were talking about." She chuckled. "Had me thinking that fall had done some real damage for a while there." It took all he had to keep an even face. He'd been talking? Shit.

"Yeah? What was I sayin'?" His voice cracked a little bit on the last word. He was hoping she hadn't noticed.

She had. She smiled at him again, this time there was something else in her eyes. "Wouldn't you like to know." She winked at him as she stood up from the chair and made her way back over to the door. "I'll go get you something to eat and drink. You need to rest, Hershel's orders." With that she walked out of the room and left him alone, mulling over what he'd just heard and all the things he could have possibly said.

* * *

Sarah was cutting up some tomatoes and cucumbers. It would be a light meal, but she was sure it'd be different then anything he'd had in a long time. Dinner was still being prepared though, so she just made him a small plate. An appetizer, she thought to herself. She smiled at the thought. A few days ago, they had nothing, barely enough for one person to get a decent meal, let alone eight. Now they had enough to make a large dinner for almost fifteen. Hershel and his family were truly a blessing. Not only because they had a safe haven and food, but because he was able to repair everyone's injuries.

She'd been so upset when they had brought Daryl in. She hadn't freaked out like that over anyone in a long time. What was that stupid woman thinking? Daryl was the only one who brought in food, he was the only one who could hunt. Daryl was one of the protectors in camp. He'd saved her life alone about three times now, and he was the only one who was out looking for Sophia. And Andrea tried to blow his brains out.

She was seething again just at the thought of it. Her and Lori had talked about it more then once since they'd been to the farm, Carol hadn't said much on her own but she sure as hell never stuck up for Andrea either. She had forgotten her place in helping the camp. She'd sit up on the RV all day working on her tan, pretending she was doing something important. She never helped with the cooking, the laundry, or the cleaning up that the women always had to take care of. Sarah didn't mind picking up after all the guys, they did something, they contributed, they kept them safe. But her, she didn't do a damn thing. Just followed them around like an annoying puppy that just wont leave you alone. She eats more then they do because she claims she needs the energy from being in the sun. It's the stupidest thing. She didn't mind helping out, she really didn't. It gave her something to do, and was a way for her to help out and have some kind of routine, some normalcy in her life. But she would be damned if she was going to wash the clothes of that useless, lazy woman.

When she was done chopping she placed the knife and cutting board in the sink, she'd take care of them in a moment. She got a glass of iced tea ready and began carrying them back towards the guest bedroom where he was resting. When she entered he was snuggled up again, almost completely covered up under the blankets. "Alright, now listen up. Hershel has you on bed rest for at least three days. Tonight you'll be sleeping in here, we'll move you out to the RV, or your tent, tomorrow but for tonight you stay in here. Dinner will be ready in another hour or so, so this is just something to get food in your belly. Eat it now, because it _will_ make you feel better. I'll let you rest now, but I'll be back up when dinner is ready. If you need anything, holler. I'm just right down the hall. I'll hear you."

He looked at her like she had said something crazy. "What the hell are you? My mother? I don't need you-" She laughed, causing him to stop. "What? Mind tellin' me what you think is so funny?" She set the plate down on the chair and held the ice tea out to him. He took it but he was still looking at her like she had just come from the loony bin.

"I know how stubborn you are, but this is something someone needs to make sure you do. If you don't get your rest you're going to be out of action for even longer and do even more damage. We can't afford that Daryl. You are too important to lose because no one is going to tell you how it is. You do so much for us anyways, you deserve a few days off. Shane and Rick are going to be looking for Sophia. Me and Glen too I'm sure. So you just relax ok. Let us take care of you for once."

His face was blank now. He looked down at the tea in his hands and when he finally did look up at her, he didn't nod or respond at all. Just let his eyes meet hers. She smiled at him then and nodded. "Right, so like I said. Just holler ok?" She waited for him to nod in response before she quietly slipped out of the room gently closing the door behind her.


	5. Chapter 5

It was almost as if time had stood still, but everyone else was still moving. This was the most horrible thing that had happened yet. Out of everything they'd been through, and everything that had happened to them, this was easily the worst. Sophia's body lay there, amongst all the walkers that had poured out from the barn, and had been put down. Carol was sobbing uncontrollably. Carl's muffled cries were nothing compared to the heart wrenching shouts coming from her. Sarah could feel the hot tears rolling down her cheeks, but she wasn't making any noise. She was having trouble breathing. No one else was speaking, no one else was moving. Finally Daryl tried to turn Carol away from the horrendous scene in front of her. "Don't look. Come on now, you don't need to look." She shoved him away from her, and stumbled only a moment before she took off running towards the RV. Daryl looked at Sarah and she finally found her breath again. She didn't need him to say what he was thinking. She just knew. She gave him a small nod and turned to chase after Carol.

When she got to the RV the door was closed, but it wasn't locked. She found Carol lying in the bed at the back, choking on the sobs that were shaking her whole body. Sarah gently sat on the bed beside her. She knew that nothing she could say would change this, nothing would make it hurt less or make her feel better. So she just sat there, the silent tears still falling from her own eyes and she just ran her hand along Carol's shoulders. She let her cry for a long while, it seemed like hours. Carol never once told her to leave, just grabbed her hand and squeezed as the waves of emotional warfare coursed through her body. They heard the shouting outside, Shane yelling at Hershel, Rick yelling at Shane. After what had just happened Shane had lost her respect entirely. Hershel sure as hell wouldn't want them on the farm now. There's no way he'd allow them to stay. Shane knew that, and he just didn't care, he'd done it anyway. It had led to them finding Sophia, but this wasn't the way to find out. It shouldn't have been like this, it shouldn't have happened this way. After today, she was sure Daryl was right. She hadn't doubted him really, when he'd told her Shane killed Otis. Why would Daryl lie? No, she knew now, maybe she didn't want to believe he was like that, but he was. He was going to get them all killed.

After a while Sarah got Carol to sit at the table with her. She'd gotten her some water and Carol had settled down. She was crying slow silent tears now, and she was just staring out the window as they both sat in silence. Daryl eventually came and joined them in the RV. Sitting by the door just as quiet as the women were. She could see it in his eyes too. This had really hit home. He'd tried so hard to find her, alive. He had almost died looking for her, more then once. This had meant just as much to him. Sarah reached out and put her arm on his knee and squeezed.

They'd spent a lot of time together in the past few days, since he'd been having to stay at camp. He didn't need a babysitter, but no one was giving her shit for lookin' after him when he needed something. They'd talked more in the past forty eight hours then they had in the whole month or so that they'd known each other. Two days ago she would have never thought about touching Daryl, in any way. Maybe it was the grief she was feeling, maybe it was the grief on his face, but she just wanted to be there. Carol was very special to her, and as the past few days went by it seemed more and more that he was too. She didn't think she was a strong person usually, but right now she would try her hardest to be for them.

* * *

They hadn't been able to convince Carol to come to the funeral. She had just said that her Sophia had died a long time ago and that she wanted some time alone. They'd give her that, she deserved it. There was nothing but silence at the service, no one knew what to say. Sophia had meant so much to all of them, and now she was gone. Then as if that wasn't enough, Beth had collapsed, gone into a state of shock or something. She wasn't responding or talking to anyone, and Hershel was nowhere to be found. Sarah and Maggie were with her now. She was staring up into the ceiling. Maggie was in the middle of telling Sarah a story about when they'd been younger when Lori walked back in.

"Daryl wont go get them. He refuses to go." She folded her arms across her chest and paced around the room. Sarah looked up. "He wont? Why not? I can go if he needs backup. I don't think anyone wants to go with Shane, and I know T-Dog has-"

"That's not what it is." Lori cut in. "He just said he's tired of looking for people. He's taken all his gear, his tent, his pack, everything and moved it a mile away from camp. Just acting like a selfish child is what he's doing." She stormed back out of the room and they heard as the screen door slammed shut behind her. Sarah looked at Maggie and then down at Beth who was still almost lifeless. She nodded and slowly got up. "Where ya going?" Maggie asked.

"To see what's going on with Daryl, it's not like him to do something like this... not anymore anyways."

* * *

When she found Daryl he was right where Lori said he'd be, about a mile out in a random patch of grass, making arrows. He was leaned up on a pile of stones that looked like it had been something else once, but now it was just a pile of rubble. She didn't say anything when she walked over to the pile and plopped herself right next to him. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back on the rocks and took a deep breath. The sun felt warm on her skin here and the soft breeze was making the heat a little more bearable. It had been getting a little bit better lately, and she remembered that it was actually about to be fall pretty soon. She sighed and allowed herself a minute to just appreciate the breeze.

"How are you doing?" Her eyes were still shut, but she heard him stop his carving.

"I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?" He sounded calm enough to her.

"Lori said you yelled at her. Just wanted to make sure everything was alright, see if you needed anything." She heard the grass moving as he stood up and she opened her eyes and found herself looking up at a red faced Daryl. "What the hell do I look like? I ain't Carol, I don't need you to hold my damn hand all day. Ain't nothing wrong with me, I'm just tired of looking for people. Risking my life for those idiots because they want to go window shopping? I got better shit to do! Olive Oyl wants to come down here and scold me like it's my responsibility to go get people every time they wander off? It ain't my damn problem. Let someone else go get them!" Ok so maybe he was hollering today. Sarah just sat there a moment looking up at him. He shook his head and looked away, towards the line of trees where the forest met Hershel's property. "Christ, I come all the way out here to get away from you people and everyone decides to come down here. How far am I going to have to go?"

She felt the small smile tug at her lips. She didn't know why it didn't bother her, for him to yell at her like he did. She wasn't use to anyone yelling at her like that and just a week ago she was embarrassed every time he raised his voice at her. She didn't take it from Shane, Andrea or anyone else, but she'd take it from him. It was just Daryl's way though, wasn't like he was mad at her, just mad in general. She'd seen him smile once, maybe twice, in all the time they'd known each other. The other day when they were talking in the tent was one of them, about zombie games actually, how ironic they all seemed now. Sarah felt her smile grow at the memory. Daryl had said something about video games being for "bitch boys", that hunting was the only thing real men did. She had laughed at him and replied that not everyone could be as manly as him. He had smiled when she said it. Not a big one, the corner of his mouth barely turned up. But it wasn't his normal scowl.

She stood up finally and walked over to him. "I know you're upset about Sophia, we all are." He looked up at her and she thought he was going to start yelling again so she rushed out the rest of what she needed to say. "You aren't alone anymore Daryl, you haven't been for a long time. If you need to be out here for a while, if that's what you need, then that's fine. You do that. I just wanted to come down here and let you know that if you did decide to go out I'd be happy to go with you, for backup, or if you need anything, anything at all you know where to find us." She put her hand on his arm and he jerked it away, but didn't say anything. Just kept looking at her with those angry blue eyes. She sighed and turned from him then, slowly making her way back to camp.


	6. Chapter 6

It was dark outside and Daryl still hadn't moved his tent. He wouldn't, she had known that he wouldn't. Carol had also tried her luck with him when she and Lori hadn't had any success and he had lashed out at her too. Sarah let out a sigh as she backed away from the window and allowed the curtains to fall shut once more. Carol and Lori had been angry about Daryl's behavior but she couldn't help but feel sorry for him. She knew that this whole Sophia thing was what was really upsetting him, she just wished he was the type of guy to talk about it rather then keep it all bottled up. That shit wasn't healthy... but honestly that was just Daryl. Even when he had found out about Merle how quickly he'd regained his composure had surprised her. Sarah thought back to that day, the day after her and Rick had arrived in the camp.

She'd opted to help Dayle take watch that night. Rick deserved a good nights sleep after being reunited with his wife and son, but she couldn't relax as easily. That morning she was too tired, almost falling asleep at the fire during breakfast. That is until this tall and filthy man nearly hit her with a sack of dead squirrels as he lunged towards Rick. She chuckled at the thought. It had only been about a month, and her opinion of Daryl had changed a lot. He wasn't a reckless redneck who was angry all the time. He was the survivalist of the group. Knew how to hunt, knew how to make weapons, and knew whether the stuff they found in the forest was poisonous or not. Daryl was smarter then he let on.

Sarah shook her head as she made her way over to the shower. She put her hand under the faucet and the water felt perfect. It wasn't freezing cold but it wasn't scalding hot either. She smiled and couldn't help the excitement that welled in the pit of her stomach. They all had assigned shower days as to not waste water and she'd been waiting for hers for what felt like a week now. She pushed the knobs in and the water from the faucet ceased as the shower head came to life. She was glad she was alone for she was sure the smile on her face was probably the stupidest thing anyone would have ever seen. She slipped out of her dirty clothes as fast as she could and made sure she had a towel at the ready. She stepped into the shower slowly and for a few moments allowed herself to just stand under the running water and relax. She didn't realize how much her body ached until it finally relaxed. Her back felt stiff and her legs began to feel more and more like jello. She sighed and tried to ignore it so she could enjoy her shower. It wasn't an everyday luxury anymore and she did not intend on wasting it.

She began to wash off days of sweat, grime, and dirt. It felt amazing. Maggie had even managed to find her favorite body wash at that little Piggly Wiggly in the center of town. Sarah had almost cried tears of joy when she pulled it out of the paper sack. It was her favorite scent in the entire world and she hadn't smelled it since the dead had started coming back to life. It was something that reminded her that there use to be a time where she didn't have to watch her back constantly, when she could actually have a good nights sleep without worrying about anything other then what she was going to eat for breakfast the following day. Some people in the group didn't really want reminders, said it was too painful. This one thing though, the simple smell of lavender soap, gave her hope that one day maybe things would be like that again. It was like that before right? It could happen...

* * *

Her shower only lasted a few minutes but for her it had felt like an hour. She felt fresh and clean and wonderful. She did her best cleaning up the bathroom, making sure to grab all her dirty clothes and towels and wiping away any water that happened to make it's way to the floor. When she finally stepped out of the small bathroom she quietly made her way down the stairs, through the hall and out the front door without waking anyone in the house. As she walked towards the tent she now shared with Carol she couldn't help but look out past the barn, to that small fire burning in the distance. She wondered if Daryl was still up...

She quietly dumped her stuff near the entrance of her tent and began to make the trip across the property.

* * *

Daryl saw her coming this time and he didn't know why but he actually felt a twinge of... excitement? After he'd told Carol off the rest of the group had left him alone the rest of the day, Sarah included. He didn't think he'd mind that, until he saw her making her way over to him now. She smiled at him as she walked up. "Hey." She spoke softly and he wondered why. They were far enough away from camp that they wouldn't wake anyone up. He didn't even think before his mouth started moving. "What? You come to give me one last lecture for the night?" He turned his attention back to the fire in front of him, poking at it with one of the broken arrows he'd spent the day trying to repair.

He didn't see the expression on her face as she sat down next to him but he smelled her scent almost immediately. "What's that smell?" He asked.

"What? What smell?" She sounded confused and she was still talking quietly. "Smells like... flowers er somethin'. I dunno, you tell me." He looked over at her now and saw a small smile on her face. For the first time Daryl noticed how beautiful she was. Her hair was long, dark and wavy. Her nose was a bit rounder and she had a nice smile. Her eyes always grew wide when she felt any extreme emotion, when she was happy, sad, or upset. They were like a window to how she was feeling. She reminded him of those porcelain dolls his mother use to have. If she wasn't so tan he imagined she'd be a spitting image of one.

Sarah laughed. "You like it? It's still my favorite bath essential. Not only do I smell like "flowers er somethin'" but it also gets the blood off and makes my skin feel super soft for a while." She ran a hand along her arm as she spoke and the small smile that played on her lips was still there. For some reason, as he watched her hand running along her tan skin he had the urge to touch it too. How soft was her skin? He'd never really touched her, aside from when he was saving her from the biters and to be honest how she felt was not the most pressing thing on his mind in those moments.

"It's alright. Smells better then you usually do." he replied. To his surprise she laughed, it wasn't a loud boisterous thing. It sounded light and a little timid. He liked her laugh too he realized, it wasn't obnoxious or overpowering like some. "Hey now!" She gigged, "You usually don't smell like a basket of roses either! Maybe you want to think about borrowing it sometime hmm?"

He smiled down at the fire and shook his head. She wasn't like any other girl he'd met before, definitely not like the other women in the camp. She never let the shit he said bother her. He didn't know if it was because she didn't take anything he said seriously or what. He didn't think that was the case though. He just thought she was different. "So, since I got you to smile what do you say to putting my mind at ease for the night and bring your ass back to camp with the rest of us?"

He looked over at her once more. "First of all I didn't smile, and second of all, no way."

"You didn't? Then what do you call what you just did?! That was a smile, that counts!" Her eyes grew wide again as she pointed at him. "That's not a smile he replied evenly. I don't smile." Sarah put her hands in her lap and rolled her eyes. "Daryl Dixon you are so full of shit I'm surprised those blue eyes aren't brown." He shook his head and felt the edge of his lips turn up slightly. He was trying really hard not to smile at her. That shit was awkward...

"Oh well, can't blame a girl for trying. But if I don't get a wink of sleep tonight, I'm taking it out on you tomorrow..."

He closed his eyes and shook his head. "I don't need anyone to worry about me. What I do is my business and I can handle my business by myself. Don't you worry your empty little head." Sarah slowly stood up and put her hands on her hips. "That's _pretty_ little head, Daryl. I think you've mistook me for Andrea." He looked up at her and raised an eyebrow. He remembered the conversation they had when he'd woken up from his accident. He didn't think she should still be mad at Andrea for that, it was an accident after all and he was fine. But he'd overheard Dayle talking to Glenn about the two women. Seemed like there was a lot about Andrea Sarah didn't like.

She shrugged her shoulders in response and that small friendly smile was still playing on her face. "Well I'm going to try to get some sleep. If you change your mind, you know where to find us. Goodnight Daryl." and with that she turned and started making her way back to camp. He watched her until he saw her reach the RV. She was definitely different from any girl he'd ever met before. Tonight he allowed himself to think about her. He'd never done that before. But thinking about someone like Sarah was better then focusing on what had happened with Sophia or Merle. So tonight, he let thoughts of her roll around in his mind.


End file.
